Because of the Heat
by Jessica237
Summary: The air conditioning in the lab is broken. Eric and Calleigh try to escape the summer heat.


A/N: Don't ask. Just, seriously, don't ask where this one came from, lol.

Disclaimer: Nope. Still not mine.

* * *

Calleigh groaned, pushing her hair out of her face for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past hour. She looked back to the ballistics report in front of her, but she found herself unable to concentrate. Instead, she looked ruefully down at her feet, which were killing her. She had worn the same pair of heels countless times before and never had she had a problem with them. Calleigh blamed it on the fact that she was already miserable, as was everyone else in the lab for the same reason that day. 

The air conditioning in the lab was broken. And it was turning out to be the hottest day of summer so far.­

Calleigh closed her eyes and sighed. Almost finished with her current file, she decided she'd take a little break.

* * *

"Calleigh?" Eric asked, walking into the ballistics lab. He was sure Calleigh would be in there, but he didn't see her. Confused, he walked around the room, looking for any sign of where she might have gone. "Cal--whoa!" he said, stumbling when he tripped over something in the floor. He looked down, his confusion growing upon seeing Calleigh lying on a towel in the floor, her left arm draped over her eyes. "Calleigh?" he asked again. 

"What do you need, Eric?" Calleigh asked without moving.

Eric blinked. "Uh, I was just wondering if you got the report done on the Jensen case. H was wanting it; he said it was important that he get it as soon as possible."

"It's on the counter over there," Calleigh said with a wave of her arm. "You'll just have to go through all the other files until you find it."

Eric shook his head, still confused. Usually Calleigh didn't let anyone go through the reports that she was working on. She had her own system of organization, and she didn't like anybody messing it up. Eric had seen her get angry at Ryan one day over that, and he didn't want Calleigh yelling at him like that. "You're sure you don't want to find it for me?"

"I'm a little busy right now, Eric."

"Yeah, you look busy," Eric said, making his way over to the counter. "Why are you lying in the floor anyway?"

"I'm hot," Calleigh replied simply.

Eric smirked, looking for the file he needed. "Trust me, I've noticed," he said under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," he replied. "Found it," he said, holding up the file. Instead of leaving though, he leaned up against the counter, watching Calleigh. "Why the floor?"

"Because heat rises, genius," Calleigh said, annoyed.

"Well, why didn't you just go to the break room and lie down on the couch?"

Calleigh sighed, sitting up on her towel. "I stayed in my lab because if I went to the break room, I'd have to walk all the way down there. Then people like you," she paused in order to glare at Eric, "would come in there looking for me. Then I'd have to get up and walk all the way back here to get them whatever file they might need. It's far too hot, and my feet hurt way too much to have to walk back and forth."

Eric smirked again. "Calleigh, your feet wouldn't hurt if you'd wear practical shoes. This is a crime lab, not a runway at a fashion show."

Calleigh continued glaring at him. "I've worn these shoes plenty of times before and they've never bothered me. They only bother me today because I'm already miserable, thanks to this terrible heat."

"I can't believe you'd willingly go through all that pain, just to be a few inches taller."

"I don't wear them because they make me taller," Calleigh stated indignantly. "I wear them because they're cute." She took the rubber band off her wrist and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail with it, tired of having to push her hair out of her face. "When are they supposed to be here to fix the air conditioning?"

Eric shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?"

"You're no help," she said, fanning herself. "Why is it that if the air conditioner is going to break, it's always on the hottest day of summer?"

"You know, if you're really that hot, I'm sure Alexx would be more than happy to lock you in one of her refrigerators in the morgue for a few hours," Eric said with a laugh.

"Funny, Eric," Calleigh said sarcastically, glaring again. "Now if you're done laughing at me, get over here and help me up."

Eric set his file down on the counter and walked over to Calleigh. "Why were you lying on a towel?" he asked, taking Calleigh's hand and helping her to her feet. His eyes lingered for a moment on her slightly flushed features.

"If you hadn't noticed, the floor's not exactly the cleanest place in the lab. So I just went to the locker room and borrowed a towel," Calleigh said, walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Outside," Calleigh replied.

Eric blinked. "Uh, Calleigh? It's just as hot out there as it is in here."

"But my car has air conditioning," Calleigh replied with a wink. "So I'm going to go hide out there for a little while."

"I saw where you parked this morning, Calleigh. You're going to walk all the way out there, after all that complaining about your shoes?"

Calleigh smirked. "Unless you want to carry me out there," she paused, watching the expression on Eric's face. "Besides, I have other shoes in the car."

"Wait. Now I'm confused," Eric said. "You had other shoes in the car, but you stayed in here all morning long complaining about those?" he finished, looking at her in disbelief.

"Well yeah. I wasn't going to go all the way back out to my car unless I had more than one reason to go out there," Calleigh replied, as though it were the most reasonable thing in the world. She smiled and walked out of the ballistics lab.

Eric stood there shaking his head for a moment. He smiled to himself before following her out.

"Hey, I didn't say you could come with me," Calleigh said as they walked out the front door of the crime lab. She stumbled slightly on the stairs.

Eric immediately caught her by the arm, keeping her steady. "When you bought those shoes," he said with a laugh, "did you have to sign a statement saying that you wouldn't hold anyone responsible for any injuries sustained while wearing them?"

Calleigh rolled her eyes, still not in a good mood. "You're going to be the one sustaining injuries from these shoes in a minute," she muttered.

Eric laughed. "See, if I didn't know you any better, I'd say that was a threat."

"It was a threat, Eric," Calleigh replied as they made it to her car. She unlocked it and climbed in the driver's seat, wasting no time in starting the car and turning on the air to full blast. She reached around to the back seat and got a different, much flatter pair of shoes. Calleigh sighed with relief once she got her heels off. She then shot a puzzled look at Eric when he sat down in the passenger seat. "Can I help you?" she asked, smiling a little. She finished putting her shoes on and looked at Eric intently.

"Oh no, I'm just fine," Eric replied with a smirk.

Calleigh smiled and shook her head, reaching over to turn on the radio. She then leaned back in her seat, enjoying the cool air.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Sorry Cal, but this?" he said, pointing at the radio. "This isn't working for me." He reached over and changed the radio station.

"I happen to like that station," Calleigh said. She quickly flipped the station back to its original setting.

"You may like it, but I can't stand it," Eric replied, once again changing the station.

"Eric!" Calleigh yelled. "My car, my radio station. I swear I'll kill you if you change it again," Calleigh said, trying to be angry, but unable to hide a smile.

"Ouch, Calleigh, two threats in less than twenty minutes," Eric said, laughing.

Calleigh rolled her eyes. "Don't you have your own car you can go sit in? I'm sure yours has air too."

"I could do that, but my car's all the way over there. Besides, it'll hurt my feet to walk all that way," he said, mocking Calleigh.

"You are so mean today!" Calleigh said, smacking him in the arm.

"Ow! That really hurt," Eric whined.

"It wasn't exactly supposed to tickle."

"I'm mad at you now," Eric pouted, looking out the window to hide his smile from Calleigh.

"Aww, poor baby," Calleigh said, rubbing his arm. "Need me to kiss it and make it feel better?"

"No I don't. I'll just deal with it," he said, pulling his arm away from Calleigh. "After all, it's much less painful than this radio station."

Calleigh laughed. "Are you going to be bitter about that all day long?"

"Yes I am, in fact."

"Well, I guess you can just keep pouting about it, because I'm not letting you change it." she said, smiling. She reached her arm down beside her seat and pulled a lever, making her seat recline a little bit. She laid back and closed her eyes, clearly feeling much better than she did earlier.

Eric looked at Calleigh, then tried to do the same thing, though unsuccessfully. "Hey," he whined, "why doesn't mine do that?"

"Oh, that seat's broken. It doesn't move at all right now," Calleigh replied lazily. "I just haven't had the time to take it and get it fixed. Besides, I really haven't needed to," she finished, closing her eyes again.

While she wasn't looking, Eric stole a few glances at Calleigh. Her face was still lightly flushed from the heat, and her long, blonde hair was falling out of her ponytail. He tried not to let his imagination run wild, but it was hard under any circumstances. It was especially hard with her just lying back in her seat like that.

After a moment of though, Eric shifted in his seat so he was facing Calleigh. "Switch seats with me, Cal," he said abruptly.

"What? No way!" she said, looking at Eric like he was crazy. "You should be glad I'm even letting you sit in here with me."

"Come on, Calleigh. I let you listen to your radio station. Now return the favor and let me have the reclining seat," he said, giving Calleigh his best puppy dog look.

Calleigh looked out the window to avoid looking at Eric. She loved that look, but it always made her give in to what he wanted. She smiled, despite herself. "Eric, I am not giving you my seat," she said with a laugh.

Eric sighed dramatically. "I had hoped it wouldn't come down to this." He raised up the armrest in the center so that it was even with the back of his seat. He then slid over to where the armrest had previously been. "I'm just going to have to take it from you," he said, a devious grin on his face. He slid both his arms beneath her, and quickly lifted her out of the seat.

"Eric Delko! She squealed, having been taken by surprise. "You put me down right now!" she yelled, squirming against him.

"I plan on it," he said lightly. He set her down gently in his seat before sliding over into the driver's seat. He leaned back in the seat. He smirked, but it quickly turned into a full grin upon seeing the look of pure astonishment on Calleigh's face.

"I cannot believe you just did that," she said, causing the grin on Eric's face to widen. She shook her head and turned away, trying to hide her own grin from Eric. "It's not funny," she said, trying to sound angry but failing.

"I think it's hilarious," Eric said. He made a great deal out of laying back in the seat, getting comfortable. "You were right, this is very comfortable."

"Get out of my car," Calleigh said.

Eric tried to look offended. "But I just got comfortable!"

"I'm serious, Eric," she said, biting her lip to fight a smile. "Get out of my car." She reached across him and tried to grab the door handle. But Eric was faster; he grabbed her hand before it got to the handle.

"See now, unlike you, I'm going to be nice," he said, grabbing her other arm. Ignoring her yelp of protest, he pulled her over into his lap. "We can share the seat," he said, grinning.

Calleigh tried her best to look and sound angry. "You have not been nice to me today, Eric. You made fun of my shoes, you made fun of my radio station, you picked me up and took my seat from me. Now you brutally pulled me back over here, and I'm probably going to be bruised later." She rubbed her arm, pretending to pout. "All after I so graciously let you sit in my nice air conditioned car. I want an apology."

Eric reached down beside the seat, pulling the lever to raise it up a little, bringing his face very close to Calleigh's. He smirked, seeing her eyes widen. "Fine. I'm sorry I was so mean to you, even though you hit me too," he said, grinning. "Happy now?"

The sudden close proximity had startled Calleigh at first, but once she got over the initial surprise, it felt completely natural to her. "Hmm, almost," she said, eyes twinkling mischievously. Without warning, she leaned into him and captured his lips with her own.

All trace of rational, coherent thought completely left Eric. Every part of him screamed that this just had to be a dream; that under no real circumstance would he actually be kissing Calleigh Duquesne. And yet, that was exactly what he was doing.

Calleigh pulled away, grinning broadly at the look of shock on Eric's face. She shifted in his lap so she was straddling him, thankful that she had parked far away from anyone else that morning. "What?" she asked innocently, noticing his intense gaze on her.

Eric shook his head. "Nothing." He grinned. "I cannot believe you just did that," he said in a high voice, mocking her comment from earlier.

Calleigh smacked his arm lightly. "I do not sound like that," she said, laughing.

"You're not being very nice to me," Eric said in that same, mocking tone, trying desperately not to laugh. "I think you should apologize!"

"Shut up," Calleigh said, laughing. "Besides, I think I'm being very nice to you," she said. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his again.

Eric now knew that he wasn't dreaming; that this was completely real. Once he got over the first shock and remembered how to move, Eric slowly ran his hands down Calleigh's sides, coming to rest on her hips. He felt her nails scratching at the back of his neck, felt her tongue flicking at his lips, begging for entrance, to which he happily obliged. Slowly, however, he came to his senses, and he pulled away from Calleigh, remembering just exactly where they were.

Calleigh whimpered, clearly not wanting the moment to end. She opened her eyes and looked at Eric questioningly.

Eric chuckled. "Look where we are, Cal."

Calleigh looked around, as though just now realizing that they were sitting in her car in the middle of the parking lot. She looked back at Eric, blushing. "Sorry," she said shyly, grinning slightly.

"I really hope you're not," Eric said. He took her hands in his own, linking his fingers with hers. He took a sideways glance at the clock, shocked at just how long they'd been out there. "You know, H probably thinks we've combusted or something because of the heat by now."

Calleigh followed Eric's gaze to the clock. Her eyes widened. "Have we seriously been out here that long?"

"Oh well, it's not like you were doing anything important in there to begin with," he said with a laugh, earning another light smack from Calleigh.

"Even so, we should probably get back before Horatio sends Wolfe or somebody looking for us." She reached around behind her, pulling the keys out of the ignition. "Do you realize how dangerous this was? One of us could have hit the gear shift and put the car into drive." She opened the door, trying to climb out without hitting her head.

Eric shrugged, watching her climb out of the car. "Emergency brake was on." He grinned deviously. "Although I'd like to know what kind of position we would've been in to disengage that." He laughed at the look on Calleigh's face before getting out of the car.

Once he was out, Calleigh shut the door behind him and locked the car. She turned to Eric, grabbing him by his shirt collar and pulling him down to her, claiming his lips with hers again. She pulled away after a moment, a smile on her face. She quickly turned that smile into a look of mock annoyance.

"What'd I do now?" Eric asked, straightening up.

"I can't reach you," Calleigh pouted. "You're too tall!"

Eric laughed. "I'll go home tonight and make myself shrink a little just for you, Cal," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Or you could always just put those other shoes back on."

Calleigh winced. "My feet hurt just thinking about that," she said.

"You know, Calleigh, this was fun, but…" Eric said as they started walking back to the lab.

"What?"

Eric grinned. "Next time, I get to choose the radio station," he said. Before Calleigh even had a chance to reply, Eric pulled her to him and quickly pressed his lips back to hers, both of them completely forgetting about any previous discomfort caused by the summer heat.


End file.
